Ethics of Capitalism

Session 3 Ethics of Capitalism

Perspectives on Poverty and National Debt by Dr. John Aldridge starts off discussing how the U.S. poverty level is the median income for many EU countries. He continues on to discuss how the U.S. has a $3.8 Trillion annualized budget to fight poverty but of that $3.8 trillion 70% goes to government administration fees. Dr. Aldridge goes on to give examples of how to reallocate the National budget to close the poverty gap and to reduce our National debt. He believes in a reorganization of federal programs to cut administration fee, eliminating tax loopholes, giving aid to those in dire need, along with education reform. (Aldridge, 2016-2017)

The second article by Mimi Teixeira, Why Milton Friedman’s Capitalism and Freedom is still relevant today, discusses how Milton Friedman evaluated the connection of economic and political freedom. He believed that economic and politics could no work without one another. He did believe that a society could be economically free and politically repressed but that it could not be the other way around. His believe that the US Government was allowing for a somewhat free economy but believe there was a threat to both economic and political freedom. According to Friedman political coercion has started to seep into the U.S. with religion and the Affordable Care Act.

Dr. Aldridge’s article brings up questions of why would 70% of public funding go to government administration fee to provide for the poor? Why hasn’t there been a reform or reorganization to these programs? And why I am barely finding out about this?  

The article Why Milton Friedman’s Capitalism and Freedom is still relevant today, brings up the questions is if political freedoms are becoming restricted what does that mean for religious freedoms? With all these questions and worries, I am always reminded of a saying Paster Shawn of Red Rocks Church said, “If you know the Broncos are going to win the game, does it matter how the  4th and 1 play turns out?” We know what God has instore for us no need to worry about the little things.